topmiller



(No Model.) 4 SheetsSheet 1.

B. TOPMILLER'.

' GUT-OPP VALVE. No. 355,627. Patented Jan. 4, 1887.

- nz ezzz ar (No Model.) 4 sheets sheet 3. B.I0PIVIILLER.

GUT-OFF ALVE;

No. 355,627. Patented Jan. 4, 1887 f 22 van Zo Z" 1 N. PETzRa-Phmuw n mr. Washington. DC

(No Model) 4 Shets-Sheet 4.

B. TOPMI-LLBR.' GUT-OFF VALVE. No. 355,627. ,Pate-nted Jan. 4,1887.

. UNITED- STATES BENNARD TOPMILLER, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO, ASSIGNOB OF TVVO-THIRDS PATENT Ostr ch,

TO SIMON OBERMAYER AND JACOB A. HEINSHEIMER, BOTH OF SAME PLACE.

CUT=OFF VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 355,627, dated January 4, 1887.

. Application filed October 9, 1854. Serial No.145,046. (N model.)

of the engine.

With this object in view my invention consists in a peculiar arrangement of independent laps and means for operating them,whereby they may be controlled either to cut off at any fixed part of the stroke or automatically regulated by the speed ofthe engine.

In the accompanying drawings, in which similar reference letters indicate identical parts whereverthey occur throughout the various views, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the cylinder end of an engine having myimprovements attached. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the lever which trips the cut-off. Fig. 3is a plan view of the steam-chest and its attachments with the top removed. Fig. 4. is a vertical section of a steam chest, showing the means of controlling the cut-off automatically by the governor. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a modification of my invention, in which the supply valves are disconnected from each other, but controlled by my tripping mechanism, and having exhaust-ports at each end, connected together and controlled by the. trippinglever. Fig. 6 is an elevation, with the cap removed, of a cylindrical steam-chest having myimprovements attached. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the tripping mechanism. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through the axes of the rock-shafts which actuate the Valve and cut-off. Fig. 9 is aside elevation of another form of my valvetripping mechanism. The steam-chest is in this view applied to the sideof the steam-cylinder, and is shown in vertical section cut longitudinally through the main-valve rod, the rod which actuates the cutoff laps being shown in elevation.

Referring, first,to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the cylinder A, steam-chest B, and slide-valve C are of ordinary construction, except that the laps of the valve 0 are made only wide enough to cover the steam-ports. The cutoff laps D D on each end of the valve are yoked together by bars (1. To one of these laps, D, is secured the rod E,which passes through a stuffing-box inone end of the steam-chest to the outside, and has secured on its outer end a cross-bar, e. To this cross-bar is secured the rodF, which passes upon one side of the steam-chest, to guide and steady the movement of the rod E, and also to cushion the laps, so as to prevent them from being brought forcibly against the sides of the main valve 0. This result is accomplished by passing the rod F through a cylinder, G, which is provided witha piston secured upon and driven by'said rod F, and connecting this cylinder with the steam-cylinder by means of pipes g g, which pass from each end of the cylinder G to the opposite ends of the steam-engine cylinder A. 1 It will thus be seen that the steam which has been forced into this small cylinder will be forced out by the rapid advance of the piston upon rod F, and the piston will be cushioned by the steambetween it and the end of the cylinder, and as the valves D D are also driven by rod F they will be prevented from striking with force against the ends of the main valve 0.

"I will now describe the means by which the cutoff valves D D are actuated.

H is a sliding bar mounted in guides upon one side of the cylinder, and connected to the main-valve rod or cross-head by a link, h. Thebar H has a fulcrum-pin projecting from it into a hole in the lever I. The lever I has curved fingers at its lower end, which overhang a friction-roller, J, which is vertically adjustable in a bearing, j, secured to a stationary part of the engine. The upper end of this lever I is connected to the rod F by a link, I.

- Now it will beseen that when the main-valve rod moves in either direction the sliding bar H and lever I will be carried with it. So soon as onevof the curved fingers t is arrested by the roller J the upper end of lever I will be thrown in the direction the main valve is traveling, and, carrying rod F with it, will rapidly close the following lap D or Dagainst the following end of the main valve 0, thus cutting off the steam from the cylinder A. The point of'cut-oif is determined by the position of the wheel J with relation to the lower bifurcated end of lever I. The raising of the wheel J shortens and the lowering of it length- .ens the cut-off. The shaft K, passing transversely through the bed-plate of the engine, has a. crank-arm, it, upon one side, which is connected to the cross-head by a link, 7c,.in the usual manner. Upon the opposite end of the shaft K is the customary lever, is", and ratchet-segment for stopping the engine or starting it in either the forward or reverse direction. This form is applicable to locomotive and other engincsthat are run without the governor.

Referring, now, to Fig. 4., I will describe a means for automatically regulating the cutoff by the governor. The valves and means for operating them are precisely as before described. The only difference is in the tripping mechanism. Instead of the vertically-adj ustable roller J, I have here substituted two rollers similar to it, but adjustable nearer to or farther from each other by means of their bearings, which are made to slide upon their seats. The lower end of thelever I is also extended to overhang both rollers. L is a lever fulcrumed at Z upon a pin projecting from the bed of the engine. M is a bell-crank lever fulcrumed upon some stationary object and connected to the slide of the governor. The upper end of lever L and the bell-crank M are connected by a rod, N. The sliding roller-bearings j are connected to the lever L by link-rods O O, the rod ,0 being connected to the lever Ii below and the rod 0 above the fulcrum Z. It will thus be seen that when the governor'slide is elevated by the rapid movement of the engine the rollers J will be moved apart and the valves D D made to out off the supply of steam to the cylinder A at an earlier point of the piston-stroke, and as the slide of the governor is carried down by the slower movement of the engine more steam will be supplied to the cylinder by bringing the rollers J nearer together. Thus the cut-off is regulated from the earliest desirable point to the full stroke of the piston, depending upon the pressure of steam in the boiler or the duty required of the engine.

Referring, now, to Fig. 5, the sliding bar H is driven by a lever, P, which is fulcrumed upon a stationary pin, 19, and rocked by the piston-rod through a pin which enters the upper bifurcated end of the lever I, the bar H and lever P being connected by a link, 1). Projecting from the sliding bar H is a rigid arm, Q, which drives the main valve 0. Fulcrumed upon the sliding bar H, at opposite ends of the steam-cylinder and steam-chest, are two levers, l The upper ends of these levers are bifurcated to receive the spadehandle ends of the cutoff-valve rods E E, and the lower ends areformed into circular fingers 1', like the lever I. Friction-rollers J are journaled in bearing j, arranged below and to one side of the vertical plane of the lever 1 In the same horizontal plane as the rollers J are stationary pins The bearings of rollers J are adjustable nearer to or farther from the stationary pins j", so that the point of cut-off is determined the same as described with relation to the figures previously referred to. The exhaust-ports in this view, Fig. 5, are controlled by independent cut-offs R, arranged below the steam-cylinder and united by a rod, 1'. This rod has a pin projecting from it into the upper bifurcated end of' the lever 1 which is fulcrumed upon a pin projecting from bar H. This lever has also arranged below its downwardly-curved fingers a vertirally-adj ustable roller, J to trip the valve R at the proper time to open the exhaust.

In the position shown in the drawings the piston has just commenced its movement to the right, the supply-port to the left has just commenced to open to admit steam back of the piston, and the exhaust-port at the opposite end of the cylinder is thrown wide open. As the piston advances it carries the bar H with it. So soon as the left curved finger of the lever 1 reaches the wheeLJ, the lever I will be rocked forward and instantly cut off the supply of steam to the cylinder. As the bar H advances, the finger, sliding up upon the roller, as shown upon the right-hand end of the drawings, will keep the cut-off lap in contact with the main slide-valve until the stroke is completed.

In the illustration Fig. 5 I haveshown the sliding bar H below the cylinder and the -valve tripping arms necessarily lengthened,

because in this way the principle of my invention is more clearly illustrated; but for actual use the whole mechanism will be made more compact. For instance,"the sliding bar H will be placed alongside of the cylinder, as in Fig. 1, and the lever I, for tripping the exhaust-valve, will be inverted, so that the roller J is above the bar H and the long arm of the lever below it.

Referring, now, to Figs. (3, 7, and 8, I will describe my improvements as applied to a cylindrical steanrchest. The chest B is a plain cylinder with flanged ends to receive heads, one of which has a stuffingbox to receive the rock-shafts which actuate the main and cutoff valves, and the other head has a pocket to furnish a bearing for the opposite end of the shaft. main valve 0, has wings projecting from it into a mortise in the top of valve 0'. be seen that when the shaft S is rocked by its arm S the valve C will be moved on its seat, and alternately open and close the steamports. Through the hollow shaft S passes the shaft T,.whieh is also provided with a stuffing-box at the point where it enters the tubular shaft S. This shaft has arms t projecting up from it through the cut-away portion of the shaft S within the steam-chest, which arms are secured to the cut-off valve D. The valve The hollow shaft S, which actuates the IIC It will C is driven by the connecting-rod s, which may be connected to the eccentric or cross head of the engine. Upon this rod sis fulcrumed the lever 1 which actuates the cut-off D through the rod 2'". Below the lower bifurcated end of the rod 1 is the roller J, which is vertically adjustable in its bearing j, to regulate the point of cut-off, in the same manner as before described.

Fig. 9 represents a modification in which two sliding bars are used--one to drive the main valve and carry the tripping-lever of the cut-off laps and the other to control the cutoff-both being actuated by the eccentric. The main valve is operated substantially as in Fig, 5; but the lever I is tripped by inclines upon the sliding bar U.

The sliding bar H, which carries the tripping-lever 1 has an arm, If, projecting up from it, to which is secured the hollow rod V, which drives the main valve.

the cut-off laps D D. The outer end of rod V is provided with a stuffing-box, o, to pre vent the escape of steam.- The bent end of rod E enters a slot in the upper end of the lever l. The bar H is driven by the eccentric-rod z, the notched end of which engages a pin, h, which projects from bar H. De pending from rod z is a slotted link, 2, which is rocked by a rod, m, one end of which is connected to the lower end of the link, and the opposite end is connected to an angular lever, X, which is pivoted at its angle to an extension of the pillar-block. The horizontal arm of lever Xpasses through a slot in an arm, Y, extending down from the eccentric-strap. The sliding bar U isconnected to the link z by the bar or rod u The barU has an upward projection with inclined ends a n, which, when the bar is moved back and forth, alternately engage the fingers iof the lever 1 and by rocking it operate the cutoff. The point of cut-off is controlled by the governor through a rod, u. As the governor-balls are carried outward by the speed of the engine the rod to is carried down to the position shown. The slides H and U, then moving in opposite: directions, effect a quick cut-off, and less steam is admitted to the cylinder. As the governor-balls fall at a slower speed the bar a is carried-up, causing a slower cut-off. When the bar a is drawn to the upper end of the slot in link a, the two sliding bars H and U will move together and the laps D D remain at equal distances from thexmain valve 0 during the entire stroke, so that there is no cut-off except by the main valve. Thus the cut-off is effected at any point desired. It will be seen that whatever Through this hollow rod passes the rod E, which operates The valve 0 and independent cut-offs or laps herein shpwn are substantially the same as shown in my two patents dated September 23, 1884:. The invention herein described is an improvement upon these former devices.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is'- 1. The combination of a steam-chest, avalve to open the steam ports, operated in the usual manner, and independent cut-off valves at each end of the main valve, with a tripping lever connected to the cut-off valves and mounted upon a movable bearing which is actuated by the engine to alternately close said cut-off valves against the opposite ends of the center valve, substantially as specified.

2. The combination, substantially as speci fied, of a steam-chest, a valve to open thesteam-ports in the usual manner, and independent cut-off valves at each end of the main valve, with a tripping-lever connected to the cut-off valves and mounted upon a movable bearing which is actuated by the engine, and an adjustable stop in the path of the free end of the tripping-lever to force said lever to rock upon its fulcrum and quickly bring the following lap or cut-off against the following end of the main valve to effect a rapid cut-off at the point desired. l

3. The combination of the steam-chest, the

main valve, the independent cut-offs to close alternately against the opposite ends of the center main valve, with the tripping-lever connected to the cut-off valves and fulcrumed on a movable hearing which is actuated by the engine, and movable stops in the path of the free end of the tripping-lever, which stops are regulated by the governor of the engine for the purpose of controlling the cut-off according to the rate of speed or the duty required of the engine, substantially as described.

4. The combination, substantially as specified, of the slide-valve O and independent cut-off valves D D with sliding bar H, lever I, fulcrumed upon said sliding bar and having its free end bifurcated to engage a trippingstop arranged in the path of the said lever l, and a link, as h, connecting the sliding bar with the engine, for the purpose specified.

BENNARD TOPMILLER.

Witnesses:

Gno. J. MURRAY, CASPER MILES. 4 

